Almost weekly one of my kids will approach me with unapologetic sadness on their face because their tablet has inexplicably died. Forced to now interact with society like a boomer, they express shock over how such a sad, regular-occurring event could have happened to them. Again.
In the calmest, most matter-of-fact manor I can muster, I explain to them this is all because they didn’t take the necessary steps to prevent it the night before. If they addressed this extremely predictable issue earlier, it wouldn’t be a problem right now.
In many ways, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys represent my children in this illustration. Only instead of Jones forgetting to plug in his tablet night after night, Jones is neglecting to fix the same important position offseason after offseason.
Over the past two offseasons it’s been glaringly apparent the Cowboys have had an issue on their interior defensive line. Defensive tackle has headlined nearly every free agent wish list of theirs, yet the Cowboys have repeatedly turned up their nose like DT is somehow the mini tootsie roll of NFL positions.
Halfway through the 2025 campaign and it’s clear, DT is still a major issue in Dallas, and much like my kids and their battery-depleted tablets, the Cowboys have no one to blame but themselves.
It would take nearly an act of God to salvage the Cowboys DT this season. Mazi Smith has done nothing to alter his disappointing career trajectory, Osa Odighizuwa is approaching free agency and the numerous other band-aids and Bondo Dallas has plugged into the middle are extreme longshots to become long-term solutions at any point in their careers.
The same position that headlined the Cowboys wish list the last two offseasons, is the same position that’s likely to headline it again in 2025: DT
A good DT can be an anchor in the middle for other positions to play off of. Assessing the play of linebackers, safeties and edge players in 2024, has become almost an impossible task given the struggles at DT. The trickle-down effects of the poor DT play cannot be overstated.
Luckily for the Cowboys, DT is one of the easiest positions to fill in the offseason. Majority of the top-rated DTs in the league today have either hit free agency or switched teams through free agency at some point in their careers. While it’s a costly position to fill, it’s a position that’s readily available to DT-needy teams willing to spend and desperate for instant solutions.
DT is an unpredictable position to draft and often takes time to develop. Players rarely hit the ground running so if any position is worth paying for in free agency, it’s the one. But we’ve been down this road before. Recommendations, cause and effect explanations, and not-so-polite “I told you sos.”
At the end of the day, Jerry Jones just needs to charge his tablet.
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